Well, it's been a month since our last Weekly Take, and the main reason is that I've been in Nottingham, UK coaching at the Under 24 World Championships with Team Canada Mixed. The tournament lasted a full week (plus a week of prep ahead of time) and featured 16 countries from around the world. It's an amazing experience to see such a wide range of players coming together to compete for a world title. What follows are some reflections on that experience and some life and investing lessons I took out of it.

 

1) There is only so much you can control. Each division (Women's, Open, and Mixed) had their own tournament format and with so many permutations and so many possibilities it's incredibly hard to figure out who will win and who you will play next. There are also so many distracting storylines (upset wins, injuries, amazing plays) that is incredibly easy to lose focus of your goals. Our team did a lot of work in the build-up to this tournament to ensure we could keep our focus on the task at hand and ignore things outside of our control, and we did that exceptionally well. In the world of investing and financial planning, focusing on the important things (stable performance, long term planning, living within your means) and avoiding distractions (crypto, new asset classes, buying things because someone else does) should be two pillars that everyone should focus on.

 

2) Staying positive is so important. Runs of points are very common as emotions swing throughout a 7-day tournament. We kept re-iterating a "no ego" philosophy with our players and encouraging them to focus on the success of the team, not worrying about which players were on the field. That happened through cheering each other on, picking each other up, and bringing the game back to the simple fun of playing catch with friends. In our bronze medal game we started by giving up 3 consecutive breaks, but kept our heads level and believed in ourselves. It wasn't until 16 points later where we took the lead, and it felt like we had single mindedly willed ourselves back into the game. While we ultimately ended up losing on a couple unfortunate miscommunications, it was still an impressive battle. As someone who has two young kids and very little time on his hands, not to mention the challenges of life for everyone coming out of a pandemic, life can get hard and it is easy to feel run down. Those feelings seep into other pieces of our lives. Taking a moment to appreciate the good people and experiences in our lives can help fend off what can sometimes feel like an avalanche of hardships in our lives and the lives of those we care about.

 

3) Getting the most out of your athletes is more important than how skilled the athletes are. As coaches we really focused on finding the best fit for everyone on our team and sometimes that meant shifting them a little outside of their comfort zone. It meant that they might not have had as many touches, goals, or assists, but that their impact on the team and their overall contribution went up dramatically. In sports we talk about "punching above our weight class" and our team certainly did because every athlete was able to contribute to the teams success rather than relying on a single exceptional athlete to carry our team. In investing, GICs are decidedly not cool or fun, but they can perform an exceptionally valuable role to limit volatility and increase stability. This can improve everyone's investing experience. 

 

Sport is such a great teacher and I love how the lessons we learn on the field translate so well to life, and financial planning. I'll share some more thoughts on my experience next week and in the mean time I hope you enjoy this picture of our team walking into the Opening Ceremonies. It was a moment I will always keep with me.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete Galbraith, Investment Advisor & Certified Financial Planner

613-531-2922

peter.galbraith@cibc.com